Pasar Malam Part 3: Padang Jawa Night Market, Shah Alam

After our journey from Setia Alam to Petaling Jaya, let’s head down to the small town in Shah Alam called Padang Jawa. Like everybody else, the territory is pretty unfamiliar for me at first as it is situated quite to the deep end near Section 7, Shah Alam. To my surprise, the little, friendly town hosts one of the busiest night markets ever.

Occupies only a medium fractions from the big field, the night market creates quite a beautiful mass of food display every Friday’s night. Opens for business around 6pm onwards, the Padang Jawa night market is considered a compulsory visit for locals nearby. Even students from UITM Shah Alam love go here to hunt for fresh food supply and quick meals.

View from the entrance to Padang Jawa Night Market

Step inside and you will be amazed on how occupied the night market is. Habituated to every space possible, the hawkers don’t seem to mind on the limited space given to them. Maybe due to the fact that the hawkers are very friendly to one another, the space means nothing to them.

Spot the green dude. Look how friendly he is!

Rain or shine; the place is always packed with people.

While walking inside the night market, I bumped into a Malay stall selling a traditional dessert called Putu Piring. It is made from rice flour with palm sugar filling. Actually, you can find Putu Piring is most night markets as it is quite easy to make but very fulfilling and tasty. Plus, it is a famous local dessert, so what more to say, right?

Though the stall is packed with people, the hawker is nice enough to show me how it’s being prepared. It is amazing though to see him juggles between the customers’ requests and the photo shoot.

Here, how the process goes:

Putu Piring is consists of rice flour and the palm sugar as the filling. The mixture is placed on the metal dishes and cups tightly using hands. Then, a white piece of cloth is placed around the mixture and leave it to cook for a while.

Once cooked, take it out and leave it to cool. Put in some grated coconut below Putu Piring.

Take a small slice of banana leave to cover the grated coconut and flip it over.

And there you have it. A nice, cute Putu Piring ready to munch!

I bought some of them, thinking to savour on them while watching some movies at home. How was I wrong! I finished eating them even before I got to the second half of the night market. Sob sob.

Fortunately, my sorrow didn’t last for long as I saw another stall selling yet another traditional dessert in which I hadn’t seen since I was a toddler! The local dessert is a famous export of delicacyfrom the South of India and Sri Lanka and considered a breakfast dish there. We, Malaysians, are not really that obedient though. I remembered when I was kid; my parents brought Putu Buluh home after work and it was 7 in the evening! Well, I guess it’s an all-day dish for us here.

Please allow me to introduce a bit about Putu Buloh. As mentioned, it is product from South India and Sri Lanka, whereby it is a famous breakfast dish for them. It’s made of ground rice layered with coconut and is cooked inside steamed cylinders.

However, Putu Buluh is prepared differently in Malaysia. The mixture has the same content as those in Putu Piring. Living up to its name, the steamed cylinder is replaced with a cylinder-like bamboo and cook in a steamer.

Malaysian-made Putu Buluh.

Once cooked, the bamboo is crushed into two and the filling is placed on top of banana leaves to cool off.

The hawker then will put in some grated coconut on top of a banana leaf and it is ready now for eating.

Other than the two awesome local dishes, Padang Jawa Night Market is also a food galore for many well-known dishes. You can find a stall selling delicious fried chicken, roasted honey chicken wings, fried noodle, assorted flavoured drinks, steamed butter corn and… Nah, I’ll just stop and let you see the pictures yourself.

You can put in some chicken, meat or fishes in your noodle soup.

A night market is not complete without Yong Tau Fu.

Alternatively, you can purchase raw marinated chicken/beef satay and roast them at home.

Fried chicken

Tau Fu Fa

Coconut Jelly. Pure and refreshing.

Yum flavoured drink

The night market feels odd without the usual fresh fruits, vegetables, seafood, chicken and meat. Here are some of the raw materials, fresh and ready for purchase.

Errr… Cattle’s leg for soup, everybody? Anyone?

Even kids like this section of night market.

Little aquariums for fish lovers out there.

Enough of foods, let’s take a look at some of the scenery from Padang Jawa Night Market.

Last of all, it is advisable to come early to get a decent parking space as the night market will be packed with people around 7.30pm onwards. Carpooling or riding a motorcycle is highly advisable if you do not wish to park far away from the venue.

Nonetheless, Padang Jawa Night Market is a pretty decent, medium-scale night market that’s worth visiting. Though it is not as big as other night markets, it is pleasant enough for a quick shop if you want to get your hands on some household items or quick meals after work/class.

And there you have it folks; three nights markets, ready for your hunting anytime. Do drop in some reviews and even, recommend other night markets available in your areas.